I myself wrote to eBay last night and received a response fairly quickly.
I'll include their response at the end of this post.  (There isn't enough
room for my email to them, I think.)
 
Jessica Robertson wrote:
>I can't help wondering exactly why this bothers people, especially those
>who seem to think it is only bad because it is a pet.  I'm willing to bet
>that the wild animals out there have something to say on that.  I think
>its a lot better to stuff a pet, who died naturally, that go wandering
>around shooting and trapping animals in the prime of their life.
 
This isn't just because the ferret was a pet.  And we DON'T know that
it died naturally.  But it's the sale of a dead, not necessearily
well-preserved, animal, more than likely across state lines, more than
likely to be shipped through the mail.  If nothing else, this is certainly
a health concern.  Also, how LEGAL is it to sell a dead pet?  As well
as being unthinkable to most of us, this could set a very undesireable
precedent.  There are laws about domestic animals, and if this were a
kitten or a puppy I doubt very much that eBay would be defending this guy.
 
Larry McFarlane wrote:
>The fellow has changed the title of his auction due to some e-mails he has
>received from ferret lovers.  I'm not pointing one finger at anyone except
>to say that if you want this type of thing stopped on ebay, you cannot
>write to the person selling this type of item in absolute hostility!
 
Exactly--we've not only pissed the guy off to the point where he's now
spitefully continuing his auction (taking a loss just to get back at the
nasty ferret lovers!), but we've made ferret lovers look like angry
loonies.  This does nothing to help the legalization cause.  When I wrote
to them, I was careful to mention my concerns in a polite way, while
maintaining that it was a very disturbing auction, and possibly violating
health and legal codes.
 
Anyway, here is the response I got, which is basically, "We sympathize with
you, but if you want this to stop, you need to sic the law on us."
 
*******************************************
 
Hello Cecelia,
 
I am glad you brought this to our attention.  We appreciate your concern
regarding this listing, as well as your desire to keep our site a fun
place to trade.
 
Some members occasionally post items or services on eBay that many find
to be immoral or objectionable.  Although these auctions are not favored
by many, please remember that often the items are not prohibited by law.
Since our effort is to promote a free and diverse community, eBay is
reluctant to interfere with auctions of lawful items.  Please understand
that there are many of us at eBay that may share your distaste with a
particular item and may not endorse that particular sale, however, we try
to understand and tolerate the many viewpoints held by our worldwide user
community.  As a result of these things, eBay will not edit the contents
of a member's listing if the item itself is legal to sell and/or it is not
prohibited due to internal listing rules.
 
However, there is an alternative you may want to consider.  In situations
where items or services are listed that are not consistent with community
morals, the community may choose to express their opinion to the seller of
the items or services.  Please remember that many individuals may not be
aware that the item or service they are listing might be offensive and may
welcome your email letting them know how you feel.
 
If you would like, you can contact the appropriate government or law
enforcement agency regarding this issue.  eBay has a longstanding policy of
providing full cooperation with law enforcement agencies and we will gladly
assist them in an investigation of unlawful conduct.  Law enforcement
agencies can quickly contact eBay by fax at (408) 558-7468 or by email at
[log in to unmask]
 
Please remember that only law enforcement agencies should contact us
through these means.  Emails and/or faxes directed to these areas that
are not from law enforcement will be routed to the appropriate mailbox
or individual accordingly and may cause delays in our response time.
 
Don't hesitate to contact us with any other questions or concerns!
 
Regards,
 
Baxter Rhodes
eBay Community Watch
[Posted in FML issue 3194]